Sony unveil new Bravia TV line-up

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Regardless of the economic downturn manufacturers will continue to pump out their new ranges and Sony is no exception. They have just made available the details of their 2009 Bravia LCD TV line-up for the European market and they come with a number of new features and innovations.{ad}

One of the main features all TVs must have now is a focus on green tech and these Bravia TVs will all carry the new EU Flower logo. That eco-label is what the European Commission are using to denote a product that complies with certain regulations to ensure they are having a very low impact on the environment for their entire lifetime.

In order to meet those green requirements Sony doesn’t look to of compromised on image quality. The new TVs use the Bravia Engine 3 that enhances both HD and SD signals to give the best picture detail it can while combining it with 100Hz refresh. The TVs use Live Color to ensure color reproduction on-screen is optimal. The sets also contain an additional green LED allowing for extra brightness and better white balance.

Networked access to media is a key new feature using something Sony have called DLNA. If you happen to own a Vaio laptop, PC, or media center, then the media they contain can be streamed to your Bravia TV and controlled with the TV remote. This is complemented by a USB media player that basically allows you to plug gadgets directly into your TV and access media off them.

An included Ethernet connection provides a gateway to Internet access, something Sony have named AppliCast. They are also taking a leaf out of Window Vista’s book by allowing you to have a sidebar of widgets that can be displayed while you watch TV. The list of widgets is sure to grow, but you can get a clock, a calculator, and an alarm.

Altogether there are 19 TVs in the new Bravia line-up ranging in size from 22″ right through to 52″. The options are as follows with each model featuring some or all of the new tech mentioned above:

Matthew’s Opinion
There are a dizzying number of models in this new range and you have to wonder why so many? I realize they cater for different price points, but it would be nice to have one or two TVs per size category which are the company’s best. Then we wouldn’t have to figure out which model number a TV is before buying.

The new features are all welcome additions in my opinion. Being able to stream media from other devices is going to become more important as digital download services gain traction. It’s a shame this is limited to Vaio products, however, and allowing for any brand device to stream from would have earned the TVs a few extra points. The USB connection does make up for this somewhat, but total freedom with our media hardware is what we all want.

This new range has benefited from R&D at Sony over the past year, but with budgets cut it will be interesting to see if the 2010 line-up sees a similar level of innovation and progress. That is surely something that will affect all electronics manufacturers next year.

Speak Your Mind

Martin

“Networked access to media is a key new feature using something Sony have called DLNA.”
“It’s a shame this is limited to Vaio products, however, and allowing
for any brand device to stream from would have earned the TVs a few
extra points.”

Based on what the Sony press release says it is just for Vaio products, quote:

“DLNA lets you stream music, digital photos and video content stored in
a VAIO®, networked PC or home media server. You can even control
playback functions like pause, fast-forward and rewind with your
BRAVIA™ remote control.”

This means it is limited or Sony are just pushing their other products exclusively and it can be used more freely.

God™

I think the advertising in the article is just giving an example of DLNA technology and one of the possible ‘servers’ you can use.
Sony doesn’t limit the DLNA technology in their PS3 (works just fine with many non-Sony DLNA servers), so I highly doubt it will only work with VAIO products on their TV as well.
That’s the whole point of DLNA… From the DLNA site: “Digital Living Network AllianceSM began in 2003 when a collection of companies from around the world agreed that they all made better products when those products were compatible.”

Great technology but works best with a program called Vaio Media Plus, which is integrated into any Sony Vaio. Simply it makes configuring and connecting to the network simpler and allows all of your files to be referenced in one location.

However, this does not mean you cannot use your conventional PC. All you have to do is create a wireless network in your home. Then turn on the ability to share media with other users. After that you want to make sure all the files you want to stream are in your “watched folders”.

Then when you connect your TV or PS3 or equpped BluRay player you would go to the correct media in the Xross Media Menu and a picture of a computer will show up with the name you have given the PC. Click on that and it’ll walk you through the path of folders until you reach your files which then you can stream or slideshow etc.

DLNA is a great technology but does rely strongly on your home network. If your intention is to try to stream large movie or picture files or really long songs, you may need to upgrade your wireless router or network connection.